The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed hope that Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will be able to resolve all border issues via peaceful means.
AKIpress reports that during his talks with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in the resort city of Cholpon-Ata on the shores of the Lake Issyk-Kul on July 2, Mr. Guterres called on Kyrgyzstan to be “a symbol of peace.”
“You make great peace-building efforts, be it border issues or others. I have been to the Ferghana Valley twice and know how difficult it is to settle border issues. It's like a puzzle there. It takes effort to understand and solve everything. We believe that the border issue with Tajikistan will be resolved diplomatically, peacefully, through negotiations, as it was with Uzbekistan," Guterres said.
The delimitation and demarcation of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border has been an issue for decades, but it gained added urgency in recent years after several deadly clashes took place along disputed segments of the frontier.
Recall, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have reportedly agreed upon 90 percent of previously contested territory. In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, the head of the State Committee of Land Management and Geodesy of Tajikistan, Orif Khojazoda, who is also chairman of the Tajik topographic working group, noted on February 8, 2024 that the parties have agreed on delimitation of 889.45 kilometers of their shared border to date.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has announced that an agreement addressing the long-standing border dispute between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is set to be signed in March this year. The announcement followed discussions between Fidan and Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe on January 10. The Turkish top diplomat’s visit to Kyrgyzstan the day prior reportedly also featured discussions on the impending agreement.
The border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has been the scene of unrest repeatedly since the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Border talks between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan began in 2002. The countries share 972 kilometers of border and unresolved border issues have led to tensions for the past 30 years.
